Control for cabinet-covers.



R. H. WARD.

CONTROL FOR CABINET COVERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. H. 1916. 1 2 9 375, Patented Jan. 2,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET \fl f4 A 46 a 13 0 a A a 2 A r I e /9 4 /fi 12/ g 55 6 /4Z5 3 J g e e- Z 6 f e e e 9 Z A g e 9 e Z 70 I a g vwenl oz R. H. WARD.

CONTROL FOR CABINET COVERS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 11. ms.

Patented Jan. 2,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 wi bnaoogo 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD'H. WARD, OF QUEEN'S, NEW YORK.

con'rnon non canmnr oovnns.

To all whom it may concern v Beitknown that I, RIOHARDH. WARD, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Queens, in thecounty ofQueens'and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Controls for Cabinet-Covers; and I' do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainstomake and usethe same. l

My invention relatesto improvements in mechanisms for controlling thecovers of cabinets such as those used for the housing of graphophonesand other musical instruments.

The object of the invention isto provide asimple and comparativelyinexpensive] mechanism of the class set forthwhich will effectively openand close the cover by:

scribed and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by theaccompanying drawings which constitute a part of this application and inwhich: Figure 1 is aside elevation, partly in section. of a cabinetshowing theapplication of the invention thereto, the cover raisingmeansbeing in position to raise the cover; Fig. 2 is a slmilar viewshowing the relation of parts when allowing sa-id cover to "lower, Fig.3 is a detail vertical section taken on the plane indicated by the line3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a similar view of a sli htly modifiedformof construction.

In specifically describing the construction shown in the drawings abovebriefiydescribed, similar characters will be placed on correspondingparts throughout the several views and reference will be hereinmade tothe numeous elements by their respective indices. :To this end, thenumeral 1 designates a cabinet having a hinged cover 2 to be controlledby the lmproved mechanism which constitutes the gist of the presentinvention.

uBriefly speaking, the mechanism in. ques- Specification of LettersPatent.

, Application filed March 11, 1916; Serial No. 83,580.

tion comprises a lever 3 connected with the cover at one end, springs 4for operating sa d lever to raise the cover, the power of said springsand lever being normally overcome by the weight of said cover, and meansfor adjusting the lever and its fulcrum relatively to increase theraising power of said lever, together with manual controls for this adusting means. In the present embodiment of the invention the lever 3 ispositioned horizontally and is connected at one end bya link 3 with thecover 2 adjacent the hinged edge of the latter, and the springs 1cooperate with plungers 5 mounted in dash pots 6, said ,plungers' beingcarried by rods 7 pivoted at 8 to the opposite ends of the lever 3. Thearrangement of the springs and plungers is such that they both exerttheir tension to move the lever 3 in a direction to raise the cover 2,said springs however, normally remaining idle and coming into use onlywhen certain manual controls to be. described are operated.v When thisis done the plungers 5 may move but slowly through the fluid in the dashpots, this movement being caused by vents 5 in said plungers. The sizeof these vents may be varied as occasion may demand, andby the use ofany preferred means, the tension of the springs 1 may be varied.

The dash pots 6 may be mounted in any suitable manner, but they arepreferably provided with depending ears 6 which are connected to fixedbrackets 9 as shown, it being essential in the present embodiment of theinvention that the connections between said ears and brackets be pivotalas indicated at 10.

Between its ends, the lever 3 carries a rack bar 11 whose teeth arepositioned downwardly and meshed with those of a pinion 12 which ismounted rotatably on an upright bracket plate 13 or an equivalentdevice. Teeth on the upper end of a sector 1e mesh with the pinion asclearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, this sector being pivoted. at 15 to thebracket 13 and having'in its lower end an arcuate slot 16 lyingconcentric with the pivot, said slot receiving therein a fixed stop pinor the like 17 projecting laterally from the aforesaid bracket wherebyto limit the movement of the sector 14 in opposite directions around itspivot.

A double acting coiled spring 18 is secured at its lower end to the stop17 and at its upper end to a stud l9 projecting laterally from thesector 14 midway between the side edges of the latter. This springserves to quickly move the sector in either direction beyond a neutralposition, after said sector has been disposed in such position by themanual controls yet to be described. The resu-t of this is that when thepinion 12 is rotated by actuation of the sector l i in one direction orthe other, the fulcrum point of the lever 3 will be varied to increaseor decrease the lifting power of said lever according to the directionin which the sector be moved. If it be shifted in one direction, thesprings 4 may then rock the lever 3 in such a direction as to forceupwardly on the link 3 and raise the cover 2, this tak ng place slowlyand smoothly due to the action of the plungers 5 within the dash pots 6.If said sector be moved in the other direction, however, the liftingpower of the lever 3 is decreased to such an extent as to allow theweight of the cover to overcome this power, whereupon said cover willlower. Obviously, this lowering operation will also take place slowlyand smoothly on account of the action of the plungers and dash pots asabove set forth.

Any preferred means may be provided for moving the sector 14 from eitherof its extreme positions to a neutral position from which it will besuddenly shifted by the spring 18. In Figs. 1 to 3, an operating rod 20is shown, said rod having at one end an elongated loop 21 in which thepin 19 is slidably received, the other end of said rod being pivoted toa lever 22 fulcrumed between its ends. Connected to the ends of thislever by links 23 are two push buttons 2% which project an appropriatedistance beyond the front of the cabinet 1. If the proper button 24 ismoved to position the sector 14 as shown in Fig. 1, said sector will sodispose the pinion 12 as to increase the raising power of the lever 3 asshown in this figure, whereupon the cover 2 will be opened and held inopen position. If, however, it is desired to'close the cover, the partsare disposed as seen in Fig. 2 by actuation of the proper button,thereby decreasing the raising power of the lever 3 with the result thatthe cover will lower by gravity. This lowering will obviously be slowand gradual due to the provision of the dash pot 6 and thus no shockswill be imparted to the cabinet or to the instrument housed therein.

In Fig. 4, a pinion 12 is shown serving as a fulcrum for the operatinglever, said pinion being carried by a spindle 25 having an operatingknob 26 disposed on the exterior of the cabinet 1. iVhen thisarrangement is used, the push buttons 24 and the connections between thesame and the sector may well be dispensed with, in which case the leverand its fulcrum will be adjusted entirely by hand through theinstrumentality of the knob 26.

From the foregoing, considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the construction and manner of operation of the improvedmechanism will be readily understood, and it will be evident that itwill not only be comparatively inexpensive, but will be highly eflicientand will possess a number of advantageous characteristics.

In conclusion, I will state that although certain specific details havebeen shown and described for illustrative purposes, numerous changes maybe made within the sco ie of the invention as claimed without sacri 0-ing the main advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. The combinationwith a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with the cover for raising the same, mechanical meansconnected with said lever for operating the same, the relation betweenthe fulcrum of thelever and the points of connection of said operatingmeans and cover with said lever being normally such as to prevent saidmeans from moving said lever, and means for varying said relation topermit the operating means to shift the lever for the purpose ofelevating the cover.

2. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with the cover for raising the same, means for operating saidlever, the power of the latter being normally overcome by the weight ofthe cover, and means for adjusting the lever and its fulcrum relativelyto increase the raising power of said lever.

3. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with said cover for raising the same, said lever having as itsfulcrum a roller, means for operating said lever, the power of thelatter being normally overcome by the weight of the cover, and means forrotating the aforesaid roller to adjust it and the lever relatively toincrease the raising power of the latter.

4. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with said cover forraising the same, means for operating saidlever, the power of the latter being normally overcome by the weight ofsaid cover, means for adjusting the lever and its fulcrum relatively toincrease the raising power of said lever, manually operated means forinitially moving said adjusting means, and mechanical means for quicklycompleting the movement of said adjusting means.

5. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with said cover for'raising the same, means for operating saidlever, the power of the latter being normally overcome by the weight ofgamma adjusting said lever and its fulcrum: relatively -to vary theraising power of said .lever,said adjuster being movable 1n oppositedirections around its pivot to respectively increase and decreasethepower of the lever, and means for actuating" "said adjuster. r

6'. The; combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with said cover for raising the same, means for operatingsaidlever, the power of the latter beingnormally overcome by the weightof said cover, a pivotally mounted adjuster for adjusting said lever andits fulcrum relatively to vary the raising power of said lever, saidadjuster being movable in opposite directions around: its pivot torespectivelyincrease and decrease the power of the lever, manual meansfor initially moving said adjuster in either direction, and mechanicalmeans for then quickly completing the movement of said adjuster.

7. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with said cover for raising the same, means for operating saidlever, the power of the latter being normally overcome by the weight ofsaid cover, a pivotally mounted adjuster for adjusting said lever andits fulcrum relatively to vary the raising power of said lever, saidadjuster being movable in opposite directions around its pivot torespectively increase and decrease the power of the lever, manual meansfor initially moving said adjuster in either direction, and a doubleacting spring for then quickly completing the movement of said adjuster.

8. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of a leverconnected with i site directions around its pivot to respec tivelyincrease and decrease the power of the lever and having an a'rcuate slotc011- centric with its axis, a fixed stop extending into said slot, andmeans for moving said adjuster in either direction at will.

9. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of aleverconnected with said cover for raising the same, means for operatingsaid lever, the power of the latter being normally overcome by theweight of said cover, a pivotally mounted adjuster for adjusting saidlever and its fulcrum relatively to vary the raising power of saidlever, said adjuster being movable in opposite directions around itspivot to respectively increase and decrease the power of the lever andhaving an arcuate slot concentric with its axis, a fixed stopextending'into' said slot, a double acting spring secured'at its ends tosaid stop and adjuster for moving the latter in either direction beyonda neutral position, and manually oper'ated means for moving saidadjusterto said neutral position. I

10. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, a leverconnected with said cover for raising the same, a rod extending fromsaid lever and carrying a plunger, a dash pot in which said plunger ismounted, a spring for moving the lever and plunger, the power of saidlever and spring being normally overcome by the weight of the cover, andmeans for adjusting the lever and its fulcrum relatively to increase theraising power of said lever.

11. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor of asubstantially horizontal lever connected with said cover for raising thesame, means for operating said lever, the power of the latter beingnormally overcome by the weight of the cover, a rack carried by saidlever between its ends, a rotatably mounted pinion meshing with saidrack and serving as the fulcrum of the lever, a laterally swingingsector meshing with said pinion, and means for shifting said sectorwhereby to vary the fulcrum point of the lever to increase the raisingpower of the latter.

12. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of asubstantially horizontal lever connected with said cover for raisingthesame, means for operating said lever, the power of the latter beingnormally overcome by the weight of the cover, a rack carried by saidlever between its ends, a rotatably mounted pinion meshing with saidrack and serving as the fulcrum of the lever, a sector meshing with saidpinion and movable laterally in opposite directions, double actingspring means for quickly shifting said sector in either direction from aneutral position, a stud projecting laterally from said sector, ahorizontal operating rod havin an elongated loop on one end slidablyreceiving said stud, a lever fulcrumed between its ends and pivoted atone end to the other end of said rod, and a pair of push buttons pivotedto the opposite ends of the last named lever, whereby operation of saidbuttons may move the aforesaid sector to its neutral position, whereuponthe double acting spring will continue the movement of said sector tovary the fulcrum point of the first named lever.

13. The combination with a cabinet and a cover therefor, of asubstantially horizontal lever connected with said cover and havingbetween its ends a rack bar, a'rotatably mounted pinion meshing withsaid rack bar and serving as the fulcrum of the lever, means foroperating said lever to In testimony whereofI have hereunto set raisethe cover, the power of said lever and my hand in presence of twosubscribing operating means being normally overcome Witnesses. v by theWeight of said cover and means for RICHARD H. WARD. 5 rotating suchpinion to vary the fulcrum Witnesses:

point of the lever thus increasing the rais- RALPH H. ALLEN,

ing power thereof. JOHN J. COLLIGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner 0! Patent,

Washington, D. C. i v

